Deaths

Open Letter from Dexia Billingslea to Her Late Son, Prince Shabazz, 14

By DEXIA BILLINGSLEA
Dear Prince, When a child is born, it is the mother’s instinct to protect her baby; a mother is not supposed to bury her children.   My baby, it’s been one month since you transitioned. I sit on your bed often. I smell your pillows and look at notebooks in your bookbag just to see your handwriting. I look at your texts, I look at your pictures every day. I can’t believe you’re gone; my heart is bleeding for you every day.   Wednesday, Nov. 30, I woke up. It was a normal day. We sat in the kitchen together


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University Heights: Man, 19, Arrested in Ongoing Investigation into Fatal Shooting of Johnny Gaston

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  POLICE RESPOND TO a shooting at 189 Burnside Avenue in University Heights on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. Video courtesy of the Citizens’ App. The NYPD has arrested a 19-year-old man following the fatal shooting of Johnny Gaston in University Heights on Dec. 15.   Pursuant to an ongoing investigation, Gibran Guerrero, 19, from Mt. Hope was arrested on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. at the 46th Precinct. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, assault, robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon (a loaded gun).   As reported, the NYPD had been asking for the public’s


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Crotona: Man, 29, Dead & Four Other Men Wounded following Multiple Shooting

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A 29-year-old man has died and three other men are wounded but are in stable condition following a multiple shooting in the Crotona section of The Bronx, police said.   According to the NYPD, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 6.36 p.m., officers from the 48th Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding a group of people who had been shot at East Tremont Avenue and Southern Boulevard.   “Upon arrival, police discovered four individuals shot,” a police spokesperson said. “Victim #1, a 28-year-old male, was shot in the chest and transported to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.


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Bronx Man Gets Life for Fatal Shooting of Bystander at Father’s Day BBQ

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Dec. 12 that Bronx man, Ralph Berry, was sentenced to life in prison for the June 2000 fatal shooting in The Bronx of innocent bystander, Caprice Jones. Jones was left paralyzed from the shooting and died from his injuries 10 years later in November 2010. Berry was convicted following a jury trial on September 30, 2021, before then-U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan. Judge Nathan, now a U.S. circuit judge, sitting by designation in Manhattan federal court, imposed the sentence.   Reacting to the announcement, Williams said,


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Amid Winter Storm, ACS Says Infants Should Never Sleep With Blankets or in Adult Beds

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Amid the winter storm, the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is reminding parents and caregivers with infants about the ways to keep their children safe while sleeping. Officials said there is serious danger associated with babies less than a year-old sleeping with parents in adult beds, or sleeping with blankets or quilts, which can create a risk of suffocation. To keep babies warm and safe, parents and caregivers are urged to dress them in an extra layer of infant clothing or in a wearable blanket, such as a sleep sack.   ACS Commissioner Jess Dannhauser said, “With a winter


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UPDATE Wakefield: NYPD Release Video following Fatal Shooting of Jeffrey Pierre

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The NYPD is asking the public for assistance in locating and identifying the individual seen in the attached video who is sought for questioning in connection to the murder of Jeffrey Pierre, 42, in the Wakefield section of The Bronx earlier this month. Video courtesy of the NYPD The NYPD is asking the public for assistance in locating and identifying the individual seen in the attached video and photos who is sought for questioning in connection to the murder of Jeffrey Pierre, 42, in the Wakefield section of The Bronx earlier this month. Police released the video and photos on


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Fordham Manor: Shelter Resident Says Dead Man Removed from Shelter Had Complained of Chest Pains

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
A resident of a transitional shelter and supportive housing facility located in the Fordham Manor section of The Bronx said a deceased 62-year-old man, who died from a heart attack at the shelter on Dec. 10 and was later removed by emergency services, had earlier reported to staff of chest pains. He was later found unconscious and unresponsive in his shared dorm room.   When contacted about the incident on the weekend it occurred, and which took place at the Bowery Residents’ Committee Inc. (BRC) shelter and transitional housing facility, located at 237 Landing Road, which is specialized in providing,


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Norwood: Body of Man “at Least a Few Days” Old Removed from Van Cortlandt Park, Police Said

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
  Police said the body of a man estimated to be between 50 and 60 years of age was removed from Van Cortlandt Park in Norwood on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 17.   The discovery was made in the vicinity of Mosholu Parkway North and West Gun Hill Road. Norwood News witnessed officials from the City’s Medical Examiner’s Office and the NYPD carrying torches and emerging from a wooded area beside the roadway at around 5.30 p.m. on Saturday.   A police spokesperson later told Norwood News regarding the timing of the discovery, “It was a little after 1 p.m., an


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UPDATE University Heights: Police Release Photos in Case of Fatal Shooting of Johnny Gaston

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  POLICE RESPOND TO a shooting at 189 Burnside Avenue in University Heights on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. Video courtesy of the Citizens’ App.   The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance locating and identifying the people seen in the attached photos who are sought for questioning in connection to an armed robbery and shooting that occurred in front of 1920 Osbourne Place in the University Heights section of The Bronx, and which resulted in the death of 32-year-old Johnny Gaston.   The fatal victim was found in front of 189 Burnside Avenue, also located in University Heights.  


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